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LeetDiet

Healthy banana bread

A healthy banana bread recipe with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt and a third of the usual sugar. Still moist, still tastes like banana bread.

200
kcal
5g
protein
9g
fat
26g
carbs
Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Serves
12

Photograph by alleksana on Pexels

Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 cups mashed)
  • 1/4 cup light olive oil or another neutral oil, such as avocado oil, plus more for the pan
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups (210 g) white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

  1. 1

    Heat the oven

    Heat the oven to 350°F. Oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom and long sides with parchment.

  2. 2

    Mix the wet ingredients

    Mash the bananas in a large bowl until almost smooth. Whisk in the oil, yogurt, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla.

  3. 3

    Mix the dry ingredients

    In another bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

  4. 4

    Combine gently

    Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with a spatula until no dry flour shows, and stop there. Fold in the walnuts.

  5. 5

    Bake

    Scrape into the pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, or an instant-read thermometer reads 200 to 205°F. Cover loosely with foil after 40 minutes if the top is browning fast.

  6. 6

    Cool

    Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then lift out and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

What makes this banana bread healthier

A classic banana bread uses white flour, a stick of butter and a cup of sugar. This one changes four things:

  • White whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. It is a whole grain made from a paler variety of wheat. It has the same fiber as regular whole wheat but a milder flavor and lighter color, so the bread does not taste "wholesome."
  • Less added sugar: 1/3 cup of maple syrup instead of the usual 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar. Maple syrup is still sugar; the gain is the amount, not the type. Very ripe bananas provide most of the sweetness.
  • Greek yogurt replaces some of the fat. It keeps the bread moist and adds a little protein.
  • Light olive oil instead of butter: a quarter cup of a mostly unsaturated fat in place of a stick of butter, which is about two-thirds saturated fat.

The result is about 200 kcal a slice, compared with 250 to 300 for a typical recipe.

How ripe should the bananas be?

Riper than you think. The peels should be mostly brown or black. As bananas ripen, their starch turns to sugar, and they get sweeter and more fragrant. That is what lets this recipe get away with so little added sugar. Yellow bananas with a few brown spots make a bland, slightly starchy bread.

To ripen bananas quickly, bake them in their peels at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins turn black. It softens them enough to mash and brings out some aroma, but it does not make them much sweeter. It works best on bananas that are already yellow. Overripe bananas also freeze well in their peels. Thaw them, and use the liquid they release too.

Why it is important not to overmix

Whole wheat flour still contains gluten. If you keep stirring once the flour is in, the bread turns dense and tough, with tunnels through the middle. Fold with a spatula only until no dry flour remains. A few lumps are fine.

Make it gluten-free or dairy-free

  • Gluten-free: use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the whole wheat flour.
  • Dairy-free: use a plain coconut or almond yogurt instead of the Greek yogurt. The rest of the recipe is already dairy-free.
  • Lower fat: replace the oil with 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. The bread is a little denser and keeps less well.
  • Muffins: divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups and bake 20 to 22 minutes at 350°F.

Keeping it

Three days at room temperature, wrapped, or a week in the fridge. Banana bread made with yogurt and oil stays moist longer than butter-based recipes. To freeze, slice it first and freeze with parchment between the slices. You can toast a single slice straight from frozen.

What it is worth nutritionally

About 200 kcal a slice, with 5 g of protein, 9 g of fat and 26 g of carbohydrate, including about 6 g of added sugar and 3 g of fiber. The fiber comes from the whole wheat and the bananas. Most of the fat comes from the olive oil and walnuts, and it is mostly unsaturated. Without the walnuts, a slice has about 170 kcal. It is still a sweet bread, not a health food, but it is a much better breakfast or snack than a bakery muffin, which often has twice the calories and far more sugar.